The Gospel 4
In the days of the old testament, the word "gospel" meant the "good news" in general. The term "gospel" later became associated with the good news of Christian gospel salvation whereby Jesus Christ provided redemption for fallen man to a loving, all-powerful, holy and just God. This redemption is a free gift to those who will receive it, and it includes forgiveness, saving faith, adoption into God's family, and eternal life in the glory of the one, true, living God (plus a remarkable list of other benefits).
The gospel is actually taught throughout the Bible, however various parts of the gospel are taught at various levels of detail in various books of the Bible, so it is a little complicated to just crack open your Bible and do a quick gospel study. Gospel descriptions can easily be found on the internet and other prepared literature, however, BEWARE!! The Bible warns us about false teachers, and they are certainly out there today. Always verify Bible teaching (to include the content of this website) with your own Bible study. Some gospel descriptions are incomplete or watered down or even misleading. An example of a poor (perhaps apostate) gospel description that was gaining popularity in recent decades is commonly called the prosperity gospel. This includes most of the correct gospel description but includes "come to Jesus, and He will fix your earthly problems and prosper you". Explaining the pitfalls of this statement is a study topic to itself, but let's just say that this is NOT what the Bible teaches, and it creates a false motive for turning to Jesus that could undermine your very salvation. The Bible actually commands us to hear Bible teaching with an open heart but test all teaching against the Scriptures. Therefore, the ability for every Christian to grow in their understanding of Biblical truth REQUIRES their own diligent study and discernment of Scripture.
The four primary questions I would anticipate from a person investigating Christianity are:
- Why should I believe in God?
- Why should I accept God as revealed in the Bible as the one, true, living God?
- What is "gospel salvation"?
- How does a person attain gospel salvation for themselves?
I recommend reviewing these questions in order to help lay an important foundation for hearing the gospel with an open heart. The first question briefly address "world view" issues regarding creation of the universe and the origin of life, and the second question addresses how the Bible proves itself to reveal the one, true, living God.